#2560: Confounding Variables explain

[Miss Lenhart is holding a pointer and pointing at a board with a large heading with some unreadable text beneath it. Below this there are two graphs with scattered points. In the top graph the points are almost on a straight increasing line. In the bottom the data points seem to be more random. Mrs Lenhart covers most of the right side of the board, but there is more unreadable text to the right of her.]

Miss Lenhart: If you don’t control for confounding variables, they’ll mask the real effect and mislead you.

Heading: Statistics

[Miss Lenhart is holding the pointer down in one hand while she holds a finger in the air with the other hand. The board is no longer shown.]

Miss Lenhart: But if you control for too many variables, your choices will shape the data and you’ll mislead yourself.

[Miss Lenhart is holding both arms down, still with the pointer in her hand.]

Miss Lenhart: Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot where you do both, making you doubly wrong.

Miss Lenhart: Stats are a farce and truth is unknowable. See you next week!